Product description

One of the most popular and beloved introductions to the concept of faith ever written, 'Mere Christianity' has sold millions of copies worldwide. The book brings together C.S. Lewis's legendary radio broadcasts during the war years, in which he set out simply to 'explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times'. Rejecting the boundaries that divide Christianity's many denominations, 'Mere Christianity' provides an unequalled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to absorb a powerful, rational case for the Christian faith.

Author information

Born in Ireland in 1898, Clive Staples Lewis gained a triple First at Oxford and was Fellow and Tutor at Magdalen College from 1925-54, where he was a contemporary of Tolkien. In 1954 he became Professor of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge. C. S. Lewis was for many years an atheist, until his conversion, memorably described in his autobiography 'Surprised by Joy': "I gave in, and admitted that God was God ... perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." He is celebrated for his famous series of children's books, the Narnia Chronicles (which have been filmed and broadcast many times), as well as his literary criticism and science fiction. C. S. Lewis died on 22nd November 1963.

I read this on the advice of a fellow I know who is studying to be a pastor. I thought that maybe I would find something about it convincing, or at least interesting. I found it utterly unconvincing and filled with condescending arguments for Christianity as the one true religion.

Lewis' logic is childish, he argues that we all believe in the same fundamental principles as a matter of human nature, and that this proves the existence of God and the rightness of Christianity. This really doesn't take account of, let me think - reality. The basic premise - a Universal ethics that is part of us that leads us to embrace Christ, is flawed. His reasoning begins with the conclusion that Christ is Lord and Christianity is the only correct religion, and he works back from there, and this shows. He doesn't build from the basics, he makes basics up to support faith - an inherently illogical human trait, that can never be explained, at least not by Lewis.

He also says that when he was an atheist he dismissed all religions, but as Christian he accepts that other religions are a little bit right, so this makes him a better person and somehow by inference makes Christianity the right religion. Apart from this being a very weak anecdotal argument, it just sounds like he was dismissive of the variety of human experience before he became a Christian, and then he became only a little bit dismissive, which is somehow him being a good Christian. This only demonstrates that he is narrow minded.

Dull. Read Bertrand Russell's 'Why I am not a Christian'. Much more interesting and better argued.

Review quote

'He has quite a unique power for making theology an attractive, exciting and fascinating quest.' Times Literary Supplement 'Lewis seeks in Mere Christianity to help us see religion with fresh eyes, as a radical faith whose adherents might be likened to an underground group gathering in a war zone, a place where evil seems to have the upper hand, to hear messages of hope from the other side.' Kathleen Norris

Back cover copy

Mere Christianity is the most popular of C. S. Lewis's works of non-fiction, with several million copies sold worldwide. Heard first as radio addresses and then published as three separate books--The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality--this book brings together Lewis's legendary broadcast talks of the war years, talks in which he set out simply to 'explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times'. This is a collection of scintillating brilliance which remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader, and which confirms C. S. Lewis's reputation as one of the leading Christian writers and thinkers of our age.